Thinking about buying a new bike, but don't know where to start? Ask members of reddit's /r/bicycling community questions specifically relating to getting the right bike for you, your riding conditions, and your budget.

Fitness, recreation. I would like to try to do a Duathlon and a Century ride. So, there will be some competition, but it will mostly be for fitness (cardio mostly, since I train in mixed martial arts.)

How far will you be riding, and how often?

Not quite sure yet. I like to challenge myself, so I can see myself riding 10 - 20 miles on the weekends, maybe more.

I live on the eastern shore of MD / DE. Very flat roads. Little to no traffic. Hot and humid during the summer.

So, with all that said... I want to see what bike is worthy of a beginner bike. My friend did not recommend the Z95 because he says i'd want to upgrade within a year. Not quite sure what he meant by that though. Maybe i'd like it? I can tell you, I get very into hobbies, so I found some truth to what he said. I loved the look of the other two (Z85, Synapse), but their prices were significantly higher. At this point, i'm not sure exactly what would make me happy if I purchased a bike. It seems to me that spending that much money on a bike would satisfy me no matter what.

From another beginner - intermediate biker out there, what are some things that I might be satisfied with in these bikes? What are some things i'd look into upgrading? Will I get frustrated with anything on these bikes down the road (i.e seat, gears, brakes, etc.)?

Well, first off, you'll probably want to upgrade within a year regardless of your first bike if you get bitten by the bug. And trust me, a lot of people do.

That said, if you can spring for the Z85, from your list that would be the best option. It has the best components of the three. 105 is a very well regarded groupset, and is easily the least likely to garner any interest in immediately upgrading because it carries most of the features of groupsets above it at only a penalty of weight. The Tiagra on the Synapse 6 is the next step down, and while it's similar in function to 105, it's a drop in build quality and finish. It's far from a bad option though. The Z95 has Sora, which drops a gear at the back and some definite finish changes compared to the other groupsets. It's very much the budget oriented groupset from Shimano.

That said, any of those bikes are solid options. Felt and Cannondale are great brands. It's hard to suggest the Synapse when it's next to the Z85 though because they're nearly the same MSRP and the Synapse is a clear step down on paper. I'd say test both the Z95 and Z85 out at the shop and see if the shifting difference is worth the $400 to you.

The fear in dropping a ton of money on a road bike is you won't be into it. You'll be an Armstrong wannabe riding a $5,000 Madone and you don't even know how to shift. You know who you are better than I so if you really get into hobbies, I believe you.

By upgrade, he means what will happen is you'll be doing 100 miles a weekend and realize the one thing that's now inhibiting you from riding 19 mph rather than 17 is the bike you are on. The bikes you mentioned - you'll want carbon rather than aluminum, 105 or Ultegra or Rival rather than Sora / Tiagra components.

The bikes you've looked at are very nice. Frankly, look a little deeper in your area - stores are still having closeouts as its January and people don't tend to buy bikes now. For $1300 you just may find a carbon entry level, possibly with 105 components. My only recommendation with bikes is the big brands you will rarely go wrong with. Trek, Felt, Cannondale, Specialized - all top tier with top tier products. As you get more into cycling - when you hear of smaller brands like Ridley and Pinarello, you'll know it's a safe bet.

Thanks for the advice! My friend did suggest Carbon as well. I will see if there are indeed any entry-level Carbon bikes on sale. Unfortunately there are not many shops in this area, and the biggest draw to the LBS I went to was that it is in DE and there is no sales tax. Saves me a lot of money.

Really? You would suggest a top of the price range bike for somebody who hasn't, well, biked much recently? I would not. You just see too many never ridden bikes on CL for me to have faith in that approach. If you prefer new, that's fine, but I would go for the cheapest thing with 105 where it counts and make sure that it fits and that you really like the saddle. After 3000 miles or so you will know what you want, and if you don't get to that mileage...you can buy some really fine bourbon with all of the money you saved.

Typical areas for an upgrade are:
1) Wheels - low to mid stock bikes don't normally have good wheels (though Mavics are normally purty good). Nice wheels (and tires) can add a lot to your bikes performance.
2) Saddle - issues of comfort.. If you have proper bikeshorts the saddle is less of a factor, but if you intend doing a century (or more) you'll be concious of any unnessecary pain.
3) Gearing, you might prefer a mountain bike rear cog for a softer gear if you ever do any heavy climbs.
4) Modern components are generally so good you would be unlikely to upgrade them. Especially 105 type of stuff.
5) Most important thing to focus on is the fit, you don't want to be stretching too far when you are on the brake hoods, or be too scrunched up. You don't want too much of your weight on the saddle either. You need a nice balance between seat and bars. You can google fit info. This is with a view to comfort on longer rides.
Have to say the z85 looks good for that price.